Foreign affairs minister John Baird was the keynote speaker Thursday
in Washington at an event honouring religious freedom, forcefully
defending his government’s strong support of Israel while promoting
its plans for an Office of Religious Freedom.

“We contend that modern anti-Semitism lives in the disproportionate
criticism Israel receives, and the refusal to accept its right to
exist,” Mr. Baird said at the the Religious Liberty Dinner, which
attracts top-level American lawmakers.

“The world cannot take the words of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran as mere
rhetoric and risk appeasing these malicious actors in the same way
the world appeased the Nazis …. Under our prime minister, and under
this foreign minister, Canada will stand with the Jewish state and
people as they struggle to protect their very right to exist.”

… Reformers and reformists around the world “are literally under
daily attack,” he said. “In too many countries, the right to believe
and practise one’s faith in peace and security is still measured in
blood spilled and lives lost.”

Christians are “far too often” targeted, Baird added.

“In Iran, we have grave concerns about the persistent and serious
violations of the rights of Iranian citizens to practise
Christianity,” he said. “In Egypt, Coptic Christians have come under
frequent attack …. And elsewhere, Roman Catholic priests and other
Christian clergy and their laity are driven underground to worship
while their leaders are detained by the state.”
The full text of his speech follows:

I love being here in Washington.

This is a capital city that embodies the hopes and aspirations of a
truly great nation—even in times of political gridlock.

The United States, of course, is a country built on the very notion
of religious freedom.

It was in a search for such freedom that the first pilgrims came to
America’s shores.

It is why so many people still immigrate to the United States and to
Canada today: that promise, that potential for a better life in which
one can live freely, worship freely and draw upon one’s faith to
contribute to the greater good of society—something greater than
oneself.

Our countries are examples to the world of freedom and refuge for all
those craving to exercise their God-given right to worship their god
and to do so in freedom and security.

Standing here, I can’t help but think about someone who is, sadly,
with us in spirit only: a man of great humility and extraordinary
courage.

Three years ago, Shahbaz Bhatti was appointed Pakistan’s federal
minister for minorities.

He was the only Christian in Cabinet. And his role was to give
Pakistan’s many religious minorities a voice in government and a
greater presence in society.

He worked to make life better for “the oppressed, the downtrodden and
the marginalized” of Pakistan, under constant imminent threat to his
own safety.

Tragically, Shahbaz was assassinated last year for his work and his
ideals. He was only 42 years old.

Just a month earlier, Shahbaz had been in Canada, visiting our prime
minister and other government ministers. He was an incredibly
impressive person.

The news of his passing was felt at the heart of our government.

To see someone doing what is right, and what is just, so tragically
silenced before his time…

That should never be the case. Each of us should reject that notion
outright.

Friends, Shabaz Bhatti’s story, sadly, is far more common than many
truly grasp—and far more common than it should be.

Reformers and reformists around the world are literally under daily
attack. And far too many pay the ultimate price in their quest for
the basic rights that many of us in pluralistic, democratic societies
take for granted.

The Jewish people know this issue all too well.

For thousands of years and in too many societies, people have tried
to limit their right to practise their religion or, worse, tried to
exterminate them outright.

The Spanish Inquisition, the Russian pogroms and, most horrific of
all, the Holocaust are just a few examples of how evil can manifest
itself, and how religious intolerance can take shape.

While legitimacy for the Jewish state dates back thousands of years,
when the world woke up from the horrors of the Holocaust, no
reasonable actor could deny the necessity of its right to exist any
longer.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the Jewish people were on the front lines of
the global struggle against fascism. Six million people died for no
other reason than their religious identity.

Sadly, we now see Israel on the front lines of this generation’s
great struggle—against terrorism.

The Jewish people live with the constant, existential threat to the
state of Israel.

The world cannot take the words of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian
regime as mere rhetoric and cannot risk appeasing these malicious
actors in the same way as it once appeased the Nazis. We see the
costs of such an approach, and we will not validate these actors’
positions in any way.

We take this view because we believe that these threats are genuine.

We contend that modern anti-Semitism is alive in the disproportionate
criticism Israel receives, and the refusal to accept its right to
exist.

Some have allowed the principle of moral relativism to consume
rational thought. Equating Israel, the only liberal democracy in the
Middle East, with international terrorist organizations is simply a
flawed premise.

Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and under this foreign affairs
minister, Canada will stand with the Jewish state and people as they
struggle to protect their very right to exist.

We cannot and will not allow history to repeat itself.

In too many countries, the right to believe in and practise one’s
faith in peace and security is still measured in blood spilled and
lives lost.

This is not an abstract debate.

Blasphemy laws target religious minorities.

In the last three years, the terror group Boko Haram has killed
thousands of people in Nigerian markets and in the offices of media
organizations, as well as in churches and other sacred places.

In northern Mali, terrorists have destroyed centuries-old religious
sites, including a World Heritage site in Timbuktu.

In Burma, despite recent reforms, the regime continues to
discriminate against certain forms of Buddhism and restricts the
activities of Muslims.

In other places, it’s the Bahá’í or the Ahmadiyya Muslims who face
violence, despite peaceful guiding principles that, in the case of
the Bahá’í, include the oneness of humanity and the common foundation
of all religions, as well as independent investigation of truth.

Yet far too often those targeted are Christians.

Christians, in particular, face persecution in countries around the
world.

We have grave concerns about the persistent and serious violations in
Iran of the rights of Iranian citizens to practise Christianity,
including those facing charges of apostasy.

In Egypt, Coptic Christians have come under frequent attack—as they
did, devastatingly, in Alexandria this past New Year’s Eve.

Elsewhere, Roman Catholic priests and other Christian clergy and
laity are driven underground to worship, while their leaders are
detained by the state.

Against these egregious situations and abhorrent acts—which steal
from people a fundamental right—Canada speaks out and takes action.

In Iraq, where the United States has fought mightily and paid dearly
to combat tyranny and secure for the people a better, brighter
future, many challenges remain. Fundamental freedoms are the domain
of the select few. And Christians are not always among the few.

Al Qaeda has driven out many Christians and other minorities.

So Canada is taking up the struggle for basic rights and has
implemented a program to resettle refugees.

Canada has a tradition that some in our country seemed to forget
during the latter half of the last century: a tradition of standing
for freedom and fundamental rights, a tradition of standing against
oppression.

We did so in the earliest days of World War II.

Canadians, including my grandfather, stood with the brave people of
Europe’s captive nations.

My grandfather, and those with whom he served, answered the moral
call to act.

He believed, as I do today, that going along with a common thought
was a dangerous road to travel—far more dangerous than risking his
life to protect our values, our freedom and our dignity.

Just as fascism and communism were the great struggles of his
generation, terrorism is the great struggle of ours.

Too often, religious minorities around the world are on the front
lines of this struggle.

And yet, after the Second World War, some decision makers lost sight
of our proud tradition to do what is right and just.

Some decided it would be better to paint Canada as a so-called honest
broker.

I call it being afraid to take a clear position… even when that’s
what’s needed.

So I’m proud to say Canada no longer simply “goes along to get along”
in the conduct of its foreign policy.

We will stand for what is principled and just, regardless of whether
it is popular, convenient or expedient.

We do so as part of our commitment to basic rights for all.

We do so in honour of the great men and women of what Tom Brokaw
called “the greatest generation”—in honour of their sacrifice.

There is special purpose in defending the freedom of religious belief
and practice. History shows us that religious freedom and democratic
freedom are inseparable.

As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt observed on the eve of global
war:

“Where freedom of religion has been attacked, the attack has come
from sources opposed to democracy. Where democracy has been
overthrown, the spirit of free worship has disappeared. And where
religion and democracy have vanished, good faith and reason in
international affairs have given way to strident ambition and brute
force.”

Simply put, societies that protect religious freedom are more likely
to protect other fundamental freedoms.

They are typically more stable and more prosperous.

When you have religious freedom, other freedoms follow.

That is why religious freedom is front and centre in foundational
documents such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights and both our
countries’ bills of rights.

This view has been reinforced in consultations we have held across
Canada and around the world as we plan for our own Office of
Religious Freedom.

The United States has experience with this concept. And I would like
to thank Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook [U.S. Ambassador at Large for
International Religious Freedom] for meeting with me to share her
insights on dos and don’ts.

As anyone who has ever worked in or with government can appreciate,
an endeavour like this takes some doing.

Nothing is easy. And you really only get one chance to get it right.

We know that freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion.

So we in Canada have consulted widely and listened intently. We are
taking the time to get the Office of Religious Freedom right the
first time and to set it up for success.

We will be making more announcements to that end in due course.

What most excites me about this new office is how it might support
our diplomats around the world in zeroing in on matters of free faith
and free worship.

Canada is a country of tolerance and acceptance, peace and security.
We are also a pluralistic society. Our diversity gives us a unique
perspective on the world.

The Canadian political tradition involves working with different
faith groups to deliver social programs and wider benefits than
government ever could alone.

And the world view we share with the United States acknowledges we
have many ethnicities and religions, but we share one humanity.

A political hero of mine is former Canadian prime minister John
Diefenbaker.

During his time in office, he championed human rights both in Canada
and around the world. On the day he introduced the Canadian Bill of
Rights in Parliament, he spoke these words:

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my
own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I
believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all
mankind.”

Today that great challenge, that awesome responsibility, is shared by
my Cabinet colleagues and me. And it is important work that we take
seriously.

The words of William Wilberforce [1759-1833] still ring true
today: “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say
again that you did not know.”

While individuals are persecuted for their religious beliefs, we
cannot say that we did not know.

Like the United States, we realize that we cannot be selective in
which basic human rights we defend, nor can we be arbitrary in whose
rights we protect.

We don’t compromise on basic rights. Nor do we consider these rights
to be the privilege of a select few.

We stand firm on the ideas, principles and traditions that have made
both our countries economically prosperous and rich with diversity.

I know each of you shares this commitment. And let me assure you that
in this regard you have a dedicated partner in Canada, one willing to
lead by example.

National Post

For sure:

It is a real pleasure to be part of this year’s Religious Liberty
Dinner.

This is a marquee event on the calendar for those who care about
human rights and, especially, freedom of religion.

So I would like to thank the organizers and their team for the
invitation to be a part of tonight.

I love being here in Washington.

This is a capital city that embodies the hopes and aspirations of a
truly great nation—even in times of political gridlock.

The United States, of course, is a country built on the very notion
of religious freedom.

It was in a search for such freedom that the first pilgrims came to
America’s shores.

It is why so many people still immigrate to the United States and to
Canada today: that promise, that potential for a better life in which
one can live freely, worship freely and draw upon one’s faith to
contribute to the greater good of society—something greater than
oneself.

Our countries are examples to the world of freedom and refuge for all
those craving to exercise their God-given right to worship their god
and to do so in freedom and security.

Standing here, I can’t help but think about someone who is, sadly,
with us in spirit only: a man of great humility and extraordinary
courage.

Three years ago, Shahbaz Bhatti was appointed Pakistan’s federal
minister for minorities.

He was the only Christian in Cabinet. And his role was to give
Pakistan’s many religious minorities a voice in government and a
greater presence in society.

He worked to make life better for “the oppressed, the downtrodden and
the marginalized” of Pakistan, under constant imminent threat to his
own safety.

Tragically, Shahbaz was assassinated last year for his work and his
ideals. He was only 42 years old.

Just a month earlier, Shahbaz had been in Canada, visiting our prime
minister and other government ministers. He was an incredibly
impressive person.

The news of his passing was felt at the heart of our government.

To see someone doing what is right, and what is just, so tragically
silenced before his time…

That should never be the case. Each of us should reject that notion
outright.

Friends, Shabaz Bhatti’s story, sadly, is far more common than many
truly grasp—and far more common than it should be.

Reformers and reformists around the world are literally under daily
attack. And far too many pay the ultimate price in their quest for
the basic rights that many of us in pluralistic, democratic societies
take for granted.

The Jewish people know this issue all too well.

For thousands of years and in too many societies, people have tried
to limit their right to practise their religion or, worse, tried to
exterminate them outright.

The Spanish Inquisition, the Russian pogroms and, most horrific of
all, the Holocaust are just a few examples of how evil can manifest
itself, and how religious intolerance can take shape.

While legitimacy for the Jewish state dates back thousands of years,
when the world woke up from the horrors of the Holocaust, no
reasonable actor could deny the necessity of its right to exist any
longer.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the Jewish people were on the front lines of
the global struggle against fascism. Six million people died for no
other reason than their religious identity.

Sadly, we now see Israel on the front lines of this generation’s
great struggle—against terrorism.

The Jewish people live with the constant, existential threat to the
state of Israel.

The world cannot take the words of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian
regime as mere rhetoric and cannot risk appeasing these malicious
actors in the same way as it once appeased the Nazis. We see the
costs of such an approach, and we will not validate these actors’
positions in any way.

We take this view because we believe that these threats are genuine.

We contend that modern anti-Semitism is alive in the disproportionate
criticism Israel receives, and the refusal to accept its right to
exist.

Some have allowed the principle of moral relativism to consume
rational thought. Equating Israel, the only liberal democracy in the
Middle East, with international terrorist organizations is simply a
flawed premise.

Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and under this foreign affairs
minister, Canada will stand with the Jewish state and people as they
struggle to protect their very right to exist.

We cannot and will not allow history to repeat itself.

In too many countries, the right to believe in and practise one’s
faith in peace and security is still measured in blood spilled and
lives lost.

This is not an abstract debate.

Blasphemy laws target religious minorities.

In the last three years, the terror group Boko Haram has killed
thousands of people in Nigerian markets and in the offices of media
organizations, as well as in churches and other sacred places.

In northern Mali, terrorists have destroyed centuries-old religious
sites, including a World Heritage site in Timbuktu.

In Burma, despite recent reforms, the regime continues to
discriminate against certain forms of Buddhism and restricts the
activities of Muslims.

In other places, it’s the Bahá’í or the Ahmadiyya Muslims who face
violence, despite peaceful guiding principles that, in the case of
the Bahá’í, include the oneness of humanity and the common foundation
of all religions, as well as independent investigation of truth.

Yet far too often those targeted are Christians.

Christians, in particular, face persecution in countries around the
world.

We have grave concerns about the persistent and serious violations in
Iran of the rights of Iranian citizens to practise Christianity,
including those facing charges of apostasy.

In Egypt, Coptic Christians have come under frequent attack—as they
did, devastatingly, in Alexandria this past New Year’s Eve.

Elsewhere, Roman Catholic priests and other Christian clergy and
laity are driven underground to worship, while their leaders are
detained by the state.

Against these egregious situations and abhorrent acts—which steal
from people a fundamental right—Canada speaks out and takes action.

In Iraq, where the United States has fought mightily and paid dearly
to combat tyranny and secure for the people a better, brighter
future, many challenges remain. Fundamental freedoms are the domain
of the select few. And Christians are not always among the few.

Al Qaeda has driven out many Christians and other minorities.

So Canada is taking up the struggle for basic rights and has
implemented a program to resettle refugees.

Canada has a tradition that some in our country seemed to forget
during the latter half of the last century: a tradition of standing
for freedom and fundamental rights, a tradition of standing against
oppression.

We did so in the earliest days of World War II.

Canadians, including my grandfather, stood with the brave people of
Europe’s captive nations.

My grandfather, and those with whom he served, answered the moral
call to act.

He believed, as I do today, that going along with a common thought
was a dangerous road to travel—far more dangerous than risking his
life to protect our values, our freedom and our dignity.

Just as fascism and communism were the great struggles of his
generation, terrorism is the great struggle of ours.

Too often, religious minorities around the world are on the front
lines of this struggle.

And yet, after the Second World War, some decision makers lost sight
of our proud tradition to do what is right and just.

Some decided it would be better to paint Canada as a so-called honest
broker.

I call it being afraid to take a clear position… even when that’s
what’s needed.

So I’m proud to say Canada no longer simply “goes along to get along”
in the conduct of its foreign policy.

We will stand for what is principled and just, regardless of whether
it is popular, convenient or expedient.

We do so as part of our commitment to basic rights for all.

We do so in honour of the great men and women of what Tom Brokaw
called “the greatest generation”—in honour of their sacrifice.

There is special purpose in defending the freedom of religious belief
and practice. History shows us that religious freedom and democratic
freedom are inseparable.

As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt observed on the eve of global
war:

“Where freedom of religion has been attacked, the attack has come
from sources opposed to democracy. Where democracy has been
overthrown, the spirit of free worship has disappeared. And where
religion and democracy have vanished, good faith and reason in
international affairs have given way to strident ambition and brute
force.”

Simply put, societies that protect religious freedom are more likely
to protect other fundamental freedoms.

They are typically more stable and more prosperous.

When you have religious freedom, other freedoms follow.

That is why religious freedom is front and centre in foundational
documents such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights and both our
countries’ bills of rights.

This view has been reinforced in consultations we have held across
Canada and around the world as we plan for our own Office of
Religious Freedom.

The United States has experience with this concept. And I would like
to thank Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook [U.S. Ambassador at Large for
International Religious Freedom] for meeting with me to share her
insights on dos and don’ts.

As anyone who has ever worked in or with government can appreciate,
an endeavour like this takes some doing.

Nothing is easy. And you really only get one chance to get it right.

We know that freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion.

So we in Canada have consulted widely and listened intently. We are
taking the time to get the Office of Religious Freedom right the
first time and to set it up for success.

We will be making more announcements to that end in due course.

What most excites me about this new office is how it might support
our diplomats around the world in zeroing in on matters of free faith
and free worship.

Canada is a country of tolerance and acceptance, peace and security.
We are also a pluralistic society. Our diversity gives us a unique
perspective on the world.

The Canadian political tradition involves working with different
faith groups to deliver social programs and wider benefits than
government ever could alone.

And the world view we share with the United States acknowledges we
have many ethnicities and religions, but we share one humanity.

A political hero of mine is former Canadian prime minister John
Diefenbaker.

During his time in office, he championed human rights both in Canada
and around the world. On the day he introduced the Canadian Bill of
Rights in Parliament, he spoke these words:

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my
own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I
believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all
mankind.”

Today that great challenge, that awesome responsibility, is shared by
my Cabinet colleagues and me. And it is important work that we take
seriously.

The words of William Wilberforce [1759-1833] still ring true
today: “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say
again that you did not know.”

While individuals are persecuted for their religious beliefs, we
cannot say that we did not know.

Like the United States, we realize that we cannot be selective in
which basic human rights we defend, nor can we be arbitrary in whose
rights we protect.

We don’t compromise on basic rights. Nor do we consider these rights
to be the privilege of a select few.

We stand firm on the ideas, principles and traditions that have made
both our countries economically prosperous and rich with diversity.